Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3)

by Ruff, K. S.

  Kadyn walked over to the nightstand to look through the newspapers. He studied the photographs, since he wasn’t able to read the accompanying news stories.

  Rafael joined Maxim at the window. “What do we have to do to get them released?”

  Maxim’s face grew somber. “We’re going to have to do a number of things. I don’t think the SBU will align with the SVR on this one, so they may be willing to serve as an intermediary. Our foreign policy minister has already been in contact with the Russian government to demand their release.”

  Michael retrieved a newspaper from the nightstand. “And if that doesn’t work?”

  Maxim sighed. “Then this is going to cost a great deal of money.”

  Kadyn shoved a newspaper toward Rafael as he walked up to Maxim. Tension rolled off of him in waves. “Who are you to Kristine?”

  A smile spread slowly across Maxim’s face. “I’m her new boyfriend.”

  Chapter 10 - Brave

  “Wake up, Kri. Please wake up.”

  I forced my eyes open, then immediately slammed them shut. “It hurts too much.”

  Shae ran her hand down my back. “You have to wake up, Kri. Please. We have to find a way out of here.”

  Pain shot through my left arm as I pushed against the cold cement floor. “How long have I been out?”

  Shae shook her head. “I have no idea. They knocked both of us out. Are you okay, Kri? They really beat you.”

  I slowly eased against the wall. “Everything hurts.”

  Shae gently squeezed my legs as she assessed my injuries. “For a minute there, I thought you might actually escape. You really lit into those guys.”

  My breath caught sharply when she attempted to lift my left arm. “Stop. Please, Shae. Stop messing with my arm.” Tears pricked at my eyes as I tucked my arm across my stomach. “God, I’m thirsty. Aren’t you thirsty? Have they brought any water?”

  Shae shook her head. “We can’t drink the water. Remember? We’ll get sick if we drink tap water, and I seriously doubt they’re going to offer us bottled water.”

  I ran my right hand through my hair and winced at all the knots. “Did they come by to check on us? Have they said anything more about what’s going on?”

  Shae sat next to me. “They’ve checked on us twice since I woke up, but they didn’t say a word.”

  Fear shredded me as a blood curdling scream rent the air. “What was that?”

  Shae’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know, but that’s the second time that’s happened.”

  The room spun as I stood. Gruesome images of Konstantin, Ethan, and Brady shimmered in front of me. “They killed them,” I whispered. “I can’t believe they killed them.”

  Shae choked back a sob. “It’s my fault, Kri. They’re dead because of me.”

  I reached for her hand as she tried to stand. “This is not your fault.”

  She shook her head. “If I hadn’t taken those pictures…”

  I tugged her arm as I forced her to look at me. “Don’t be ridiculous. Those men were attacked before you snapped the first picture. Think about it, Shae. They yelled at us the second you took that picture, and every one of those guys was already down.”

  Relief slowly eased over her face. “It’s not my fault?”

  I wrapped my arm around her. “No, it’s not.”

  We both froze as footsteps sounded down the hall.

  My heart beat in time with each step I heard. I pulled Shae against me as I prayed. “Please, God. Don’t let them hurt us. Please protect us. Please keep us safe.”

  “Put your hands through the bars.”

  Shae shook her head as we backed against the wall.

  I reached for Shae’s hand as we studied the two men who were standing on the other side of the bars. They were both dressed entirely in black, but their clothes looked different from the clothes I’d seen on Maxim’s men. “Are you from the Russian mafia?”

  The two men exchanged glances, then laughed.

  Shae trembled violently. “Then why are you dressed like that?”

  “Because it hides the blood,” the smaller of the two men responded with a sickening smile.

  Shae’s knees buckled. I caught her just before she hit the floor. I tried to ignore the vile look on his face. I focused my attention on the other man, instead. “Why do we need to be handcuffed? Where are you taking us?”

  Both men turned as another man’s voice echoed down the hall. Their faces hardened as they unlocked the door.

  I whispered to Shae. “Let’s separate. Try to get past them and make a run for it.”

  Shae’s eyes flitted between me and the two men as I crossed the room with my back against the wall.

  The two men froze just inside the door. They eyed us warily. Then the smaller man nudged his partner. He nodded toward Shae.

  I screamed, “Run!” as I sprinted straight for the man who was lunging at Shae.

  The guy fell back against the bars as I rammed into his chest. He looked shocked that I had run into him instead of trying to escape.

  I punched him in the face as Shae ran through the door. The smaller of the two men was so busy trying to get me off of his partner that he forgot about Shae. She disappeared in a dead run down the hall.

  I bent forward then head-butted the man who was now wrenching my arms behind me. I screamed when he pulled on my left arm. I stomped on his foot then attempted to knee the guy in front of me in the groin as he reached for me.

  The man behind me threw me against the wall.

  Pain shot through my shoulder just before my forehead hit the wall. I tried to duck under the man’s arms as he reached for me, but he kneed me in the stomach. I collapsed in a heap on the floor.

  Shae’s scream echoed down the hall. The guy wrenched me to my feet by the hair. His face was red. He looked livid as he pulled me toward him. “I’m going to really enjoy hurting you,” he hissed in my face.

  He held me at the scalp while the other guy slammed handcuffs over my wrists. They shoved me out the door and forced me down a wide hallway.

  Shae stood at the far end of the hall. She was already handcuffed and was being held by two other men. Her hair was wild, and tears streamed down her face.

  I passed three other cells before I reached Shae. Each cell was separated by thick cement walls, with bars facing the hall. They looked identical to our cell. They were bare, with no beds, no toilets, cement walls, and a cement floor with a drain. Two of the cells held other people. A man gripped the bars of his cell. He muttered something in Russian when we walked by. A woman sat curled into a tight ball against the far wall of her cell. She was completely naked. She watched us walk by through vacant eyes.

  Shae and I were shoved inside a room with no windows or bars. Two men stood talking near a table with a couple of briefcases. Two chairs sat facing each other in front of the table. They were positioned a good five feet apart.

  The men immediately stopped talking. They turned toward us as we were shoved across the floor. The taller of the two men narrowed his eyes at the men standing behind us. He grabbed me by the face. He pointed to my forehead as he spoke irritably in Russian. The longer he spoke, the louder his voice got. He pointed to the bruise on Shae’s cheek and began yelling. The guy clearly didn’t like the fact that we had been hit on the face.

  I shifted my feet nervously as his eyes met mine. “Vy govorite po-angliyski? Do you speak English?”

  He slowly released my face. “Yes.”

  “Thank God,” I breathed. Then I began to cry. I tried to pull myself together as I spoke. “Can you please tell us who you are… and what we’re doing here? We were told we were being arrested for taking pictures of the ships, but this doesn’t appear to be a police department. I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding. We’re teachers. We were invited to teach at the National Technical University. We were invited by the dean. We have a letter of invitation. If you call him, I’m sure he’ll confirm our reason for being here.
”

  The man listened intently, but he didn’t say a word. He nudged me into one of the chairs. Then he walked back to the table and opened one of the briefcases.

  I glanced over my shoulder as the other man approached the back of my chair.

  One of the men led Shae to the other chair. He sat her down, then stood behind her.

  I gasped as the man digging in the briefcase pulled out a syringe.

  Shae’s eyes widened. She scrambled out of her chair when he approached her, but the man standing behind her forced her back onto the chair. He pinned her down when she continued thrashing around. “No,” she pleaded. “Please, God, no.”

  I lunged from my chair, but I was shoved back down. I grew frantic. “Stop! What is that? What are you doing to her?”

  The man standing behind me spoke. “That is ethyl alcohol. It won’t hurt her. It just ensures she tells the truth.”

  I winced as he shoved the needle into her bicep.

  Shae looked horrified. She started crying. Then she began to laugh.

  I watched the transformation, completely mortified. “Shae? What’s going on? Are you okay?” I winced as a needle punctured my arm. The room spun. Suddenly, I felt drunk. Very, very drunk. “Crap!”

  Shae giggled. “I love it when you say crap. You’re so cute when you have a potty mouth, Kri.”

  I tried to focus on the men surrounding us. I grew nauseous as they faded in and out of focus. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  One of the men walked up to me and injected me with another needle. I tried swatting his hand away. I winced as pain shot through my left arm. I had forgotten I was still handcuffed. “Ouch! Stop doing that!”

  The nausea faded. I immediately perked up. “Wow. That’s nice. That was really nice.”

  The man who had previously grabbed my face positioned a chair between Shae and me. He glanced at his watch before sitting in the chair.

  Shae squealed excitedly. “Cool trick. Where did that chair come from?”

  I started laughing. “Shae, you’re so funny. That’s your chair.”

  Shae turned to look at her chair. “Kri, I think I’m still sitting in my chair.”

  I blinked as I tried to focus on the man sitting between us. “Why are we here again?”

  He folded all six of his arms across his chest. “We are here to talk about you, Ms. Stone. Who do you work for?”

  Shae bounced in her chair. “Oh. Pick me! Pick me! I know that one.”

  He groaned. “Go ahead.”

  Shae smiled. “She works for Seeds for Peace, same as me. Although, I’m not sure how long we’ll be working there. I think we may get fired for hanging out with the Russian mafia.”

  He stared at Shae. “Why are you here, in Ukraine?”

  Shae giggled again. “I’m here for the sex. Ukrainian men really rock in bed. Konstantin is amazing… like really amazing. Can I take him home with me? Do you think he’d be willing to live in the United States?”

  I sobered with sorrow. “Shae, Konstantin’s dead.”

  Shae stilled. “He’s not dead, Kri. Why would you say that? That’s so mean. He’s not dead…” Her voice faded as realization crept through her eyes. She gasped. “Oh my God. Konstantin’s dead.” Her face twisted with pain as she began to cry.

  The man turned to look at me. His face remained void of all expression. “What about you, Ms. Stone? Why are you in Ukraine?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m teaching… teee… ching. God! How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “You’re teaching,” he mused. “Then what have you been doing with the prime minister?”

  My brain fired into a million different directions at once. I shook my head and nearly fell from the chair. Someone steadied me. I tried to focus on the prime minister. “The prime minister is... nice. He looks like my grandpa… the one on my mom’s side, not my dad’s dad’s dad.” I looked at Shae. “Did I say that right?”

  Shae sniffled as she looked up at me. She slowly shook her head. “I don’t think so. That’s a lot of dads.”

  My eyes shifted to the man sitting between us. He looked irritated. I tried to focus on the question. “The prime minister helps sick kids, and he really likes the symphony. You should go with him sometime. You should help sick kids too. The cancer floor is too small, it’s overcrowded, and they need a playroom.”

  The legs of his metal chair scraped loudly against the cement floor as he rose to his feet. He slowly walked around me. “Did you tell the prime minister that it would be in the best interest of Ukraine to join NATO?”

  My neck grew tired from trying to watch him walk around me, so I faced forward again. My eyebrows furrowed as I thought about the question. “Yes. I did tell him that. Ukraine should join NATO. Why? Don’t you think Ukraine should join NATO?”

  He shook his head. “Did you tell him he should expand the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline up to Poland?”

  I smiled. “Yes. Yes, I did. You should definitely expand the pipeline. Think of all the money you could make if you sold your oil to the EU. You could build a whole new children’s hospital and a research center. You’d have enough money to buy real toilets for the university so women don’t have to crouch over those holes in the floor.” I shook my head. “I’d like to see you try that in five inch heels!”

  Shae laughed. “I almost fell in, and I was only wearing two inch heels.”

  “Shut up!” the man screamed.

  Shae and I jumped in our seats. “You’re the one who asked,” I muttered irritably.

  He braced his arms on either side of my legs as he leaned into my face. His breath smelled like coffee and cigarettes. “You have been in Ukraine for nine days. You have been in their children’s hospital and their orphanages. You have been in their universities teaching young people to question authority. You advise the prime minister on foreign policy, and you seek protection from the Russian mafia…” he paused as if waiting for a response, then screamed, “Who the hell are you?”

  My heart slammed into my chest. My voice grew pleading as tears welled in my eyes. “I’m Kristine Annabelle Stone. I swear. I’m nobody.”

  His eyes hardened. “Are you or are you not an American spy?”

  I shook my head as tears streamed down my face. “I’m not a spy.”

  He growled as he pushed off my chair. He snatched my cell phone from the table, scrolled through the pictures, then shoved the phone in front of my face. “If you’re not a spy, then what are you doing with these people?”

  I blinked my eyes multiple times, trying to see through my tears. Eventually, the image came together. I stared at the picture from Mason’s pinning on ceremony. “Those are my friends.”

  His eyes narrowed as he slowly backed away from me. Then he turned on Shae. He leaned against the seat of her chair as he got in her face. “Are you working for the United States government?”

  Shae shook her head. “No. I’ve never worked for the U.S. government.”

  “Then why were you taking pictures of the Russian naval fleet on the same day that her lover was threatening Russia’s foreign policy leaders with the termination of Russia’s lease on that navy base?”

  Shae trembled violently. “I didn’t know it was illegal to take pictures of the ships, and I didn’t know what Maxim was doing in that meeting.”

  The man huffed out a breath irritably. He turned toward the men who had brought us into the room. “Get them sobered up, strip them down, then bring them back here. I want them back within the next two hours!”

  * * * * * *

  Kadyn stood outside the hospital with Rafael and Michael. “I don’t believe Markov is going to secure Kristine’s release. If the SVR is doing this to further Russian interests, then why would the Russian mafia do something that conflicts with those interests?”

  Rafael stopped pacing. He glanced at Michael and Kadyn. “There are over six thousand organizations within the Russian mafia. Each organization has its own agenda… its own
interests. They collaborate in areas that further their interests, but they often act independently. Their interests may or may not align with the governments within their region. Maxim’s organization appears to be more aligned with the Ukrainian government than it is with the Russian government. Besides, these governments don’t control the mafia. In most instances, the mafia controls them.”

  Kadyn raked his hand over his unshaven head. “You saw that picture and those news articles. You don’t think this is some ploy by Markov to keep Kri here?”

  Rafael shook his head. “No. I don’t.”

  Michael sat on the cold metal bench. He glanced at Rafael as he pulled the laptop from his briefcase. “Kristine wasn’t really dating that man, was she?”

  Rafael sighed. “I have no doubt that Maxim was interested in Kristine. I’m sure he manipulated the situation to some extent, but she was dating him as a security precaution. He offered her protection when he learned she was being followed by the SVR and the SBU. You know how often people, especially Americans, are accused of being spies in this region, and you know what happens when they’re taken into custody.”

  Michael suddenly looked wrecked. “They’re tortured.”

  Rafael nodded. “Her relationship with Maxim and the publicity surrounding them was supposed to keep her safe.”

  Kadyn kicked a pebble into the parking lot. “If the SVR is using this kidnapping to manipulate Ukraine’s foreign policy, then Markov’s strategy made her an even bigger target.” He scowled. “If Markov was protecting her, then how did the SVR get their hands on her?”

  Rafael met his gaze. “The SVR kidnapped those women the minute they were outside Maxim’s reach. They knew he’d be tied up in that foreign policy meeting. They saw a lapse in the security when Kristine arrived in Sevastopol, and they seized on that opportunity. If Maxim Markov had been with Kristine in Sevastopol, I don’t think they would have attempted to take her. I’ve done my research on this guy. He wields a lot of power in Ukraine, and I still think he’s the best chance these women have of getting out of this country alive.”

  Michael looked up from his computer. “I’m having a difficult time gaining access to the Internet, even though my mobile hotspot should work here.”